Our LRDG Chev

[Andrew H.]

We are still plodding along with our LRDG project. Yesterday we finished fabricating the tailgate and swung it on its hinges for the first time. It was quite difficult getting everything true and straight. As with all of these jobs, there is more to it than meets the eye, but we got there in the end. For the first time in four years we are at last daring to predict a finish time for the truck. We think we might (just might!) be driving it in the next Anzac parade!

[Andrew H.]

We have now made a start on the brakes. All of the old brake lines and some of the cast-iron brackets holding them to the chassis are either unusable or missing. Also some of the brass brake-line junctions are missing. So we had to scout around and find the necessary bits and pieces from a derelict truck we know about (we are lucky to have access to it). We also took photos of a restored LRDG truck to find out how the braking system fits together. Attached pics show an old original bracket that holds the armoured hand-brake cable to the chassis and how that goes on a restored truck. Another pic shows the "Y" shaped brass fitting that goes on the brake master-cylinder. I imagine these brake fittings are similar to those on the CMP trucks?

[motto]

The parts shown are in common with the Lend/Lease Chev.

David

[Andrew H.]

Thanks David,
Its surprising that brake parts were not standardised between L/L and CMP Chevs, as they were all made in Canada at the same time by the same company for the same purpose. And probably in the same factory?

[Andrew H.]

On Sunday we did a mock-up assembly of the truck to see what she looks like. None of the bodywork is permanently attached yet, but we were pleased to see that everything fits properly and looks right. Its a morale booster, as we are hoping to display her (unfinished) at the Armistice Day commemorations in November. We have nearly finished installing the brakes and have also started working on the gearbox, universal joints and driveshaft.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Andrew

Yes, it is a boost to the process to see what it is really going to look like. You have done a lot of hard work. It will be a very sharp rig when it is finished.

Cheers Phil

[Andrew H.]

Yesterday we tried to remove the 70-year-old tyres from the split rims and what a job that was! I cannot believe those wheels are so heavy - they must weigh 100 kg each!! After unscrewing (with great difficulty) the frozen nuts that hold the two rims together we tried several different methods, including laying the wheel down flat and pressing down on the tyre with a crowd-action FEL, riding up onto the tyre with a vehicle, pumping it full of air to separate the halves, and tying one rim to a well-anchored post and pulling the other one with a winch! We even considered burning the tyres off the rims!

In the end there was no substitute for the tried-and-proven 1942 method, using an impact hammer (a heavy crow-bar with a sliding weight) and a large drift-pin hit with maximum force by a (younger) assistant wielding a 20 pound sledge hammer! Even with that method it still took about an hour to remove each tyre and separate the rims. The rims will now be sand-blasted and painted after replacing some of the studs, which were badly eaten away with rust.
Recently we made the stencils for the identification numbers and the kiwi emblem and spray-painted them onto the bonnet (see pic) exactly as shown in the WWII archive photos. Onwards and upwards !